An Eternal Flame
by Wanderer Of Silence
Summary: Entry for Pro-Bending Round 7! Mako and Bolin had parents. They loved them so much. Until the day they watched them burn in front of their eyes.


**A/N:** _Entry for Pro-Bending Competition Round 7 :) enjoy!_

 **Prompts Used:** _(color) Crimson; (character) Tenzin_

 **Task:** _Earthbender: Both persons end up losing something or another as a result of this fight_

 **Word Count:** 1,861

* * *

The sun was fading. Birds flew in different directions. They still haven't stopped. Everything was a hell for them, except of course, the two people they loved the most. Their father hasn't come back for five months now and they were expecting him to come home every day.

"Dinner's ready!" Their mother yelled from across the street.

A toy was in between their hands, both of them trying to pull it away from the each other. A fight where every brothers go through.

"It's mine!" The older boy pulled harder and at the same time, pushed his brother.

"C'mon, Mako!" The little brother cried, "It's my turn, already!"

"I don't want to! Dad bought it for me, so it's mine!" He took it away from his brother's hands.

The younger boy fell down hard and hit his head on the ground. Their mother heard the commotion outside and immediately ran towards her sons.

"Mako! Bolin!" She saw her sons, one crying on the ground and the other playing with his toy.

She dusted Bolin's clothes and wiped his tears away, "Are you okay, sweetie? What happened?"

Bolin pouted and pointed his finger towards his older brother, "He doesn't want to share!"

"Mako, what did I tell you about sharing your toys with your brother?" She faced the older kid.

Mako didn't respond and continued to play with his toy. Their mother stood up and grabbed Mako by the ear.

"Are you listening to me, young man?" She released Mako and hugged him, "I want you both to make up and share each other's stuff, okay?"

Mako nodded, "I'm sorry, mom."

"It's okay." She turned around and motioned for Bolin to come closer with them. They all hugged and their mother was in tears.

"I wish your dad was here with us." She wiped the tears off her cheeks, "Let's get inside, the food's gonna get cold!" She happily held each one of them on her arms.

* * *

Two days after, an unexpected guest reached their home. He opened the door, stepped in and hung his coat beside the door.

"Naoki! I'm back!" He shouted.

A few seconds passed and he heard several footsteps running from the back of the kitchen. His heart warmed up and he couldn't resist to smile.

"Dad!" His two sons came running towards him. They tackled him with a hug and stumbled on the ground laughing together.

His wife giggled by the side as the trio stood up. "So, how's the job?" Naoki asked.

"It went great! I saw a lot of sights there!" San replied enthusiastically.

He slowly walked towards his wife, "But there was one sight I missed."

The married couple kissed in front of the kids who got grossed out of the view.

* * *

It was a night to remember. The whole family eating together. Laughter and cheers filled the room as their father told stories about his journey around the world.

"Then I saw this giant statue that had glowing eyes!" He said as he mimicked the statue's eyes.

The children laughed again as they were enjoying the moment together.

"Oh! I almost forgot," San pointed upwards as he pulled something out of his suitcase.

It was a glass figurine of Avatar Aang. The figure was only four inches high and could easily be held with one hand. The two children cooed in awe and stared at the glass figure.

"It's something I got while I was away. It took me a long time to fall in line for that!" He gave it to both of them.

Mako immediately grabbed it and held it in his arms. Bolin got angry and tried to take it away from his brother's hands.

"Give it to me, Mako!" Bolin yelled.

"No!" The older brother turned around.

The two boys continued to fight until Bolin cried. Their mother went over to them and grabbed the glass piece.

"Stop it!" She shushed the children, "This is a gift from your father for our family so I'll place it up here so that everyone can see it."

She placed the figure on top of a small shelf. San was giggling the whole time the two boys were fighting.

After dinner, it was already time for the children to go to bed. San and Naoki carried their kids to their rooms. They both took turns kissing the boys on the forehead.

"Well, good night, kids." He smiled, "I love you both."

"Hmm…looks like we have the whole night for ourselves, huh?" Naoki teased her husband.

"Looks like it." San replied and kissed his wife on the cheek.

* * *

When morning came, San went out to buy supplies and Naoki was washing their laundry. Bolin was the first to wake up. He rubbed his eyes and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast.

"Mom!" He cried, "I'm hungry!"

Naoki went inside the house and prepared food for his son. "What about your brother?"

"He's still sleeping." Bolin's voice was hard and cold.

His mother noticed and decided to talk to her son, "Hey, what's wrong, sweetie?"

"Nothing." The young boy replied and continued to eat his food.

"Oh, c'mon. I know if my sons are sad. What's bothering you?" She ran her fingers through his hair.

Bolin sighed, "Mako's being mean to me." He pouted.

"You do know that you're brothers right? You should love each other no matter how mean your brother gets. I doubt that he hates you. But if he does, your dad and I are still here. We'll love you no matter what happens." Naoki hugged her son tightly.

"I love you, mom!" Bolin cheered happily.

"I love you more, sweetie."

Little did they know, Mako was listening behind the kitchen. He got jealous of how important Bolin is to his mother. He walked away and decided to play with his toys.

When boredom struck him, he switched on the radio to listen to random stuff.

'And there we have it folks! The last statement from our newest Airbending Master, Tenzin of the Air Nomads!'

Mako groaned and rolled his eyes, "Who's this guy anyway?"

He sighed, looked around and then, something caught his eye. The shimmering glass statue was looking down on him, trying to tell him to play with it.

Mako immediately got up and tried to reach the figure. He grabbed a few books and stepped on them to reach the high shelf.

It wasn't enough. Fortunately, Bolin walked in and glanced at him.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" The younger brother whispered.

Out of selfishness, Mako decided to use Bolin as a stepping stone. "Come here! Help me grab it! I promise I'll share it with you!"

Bolin's eyes widened and his smile grew. He walked underneath Mako and held his hands up for his brother to step on.

As Mako was about to reach it, Bolin sneezed, causing them to topple down. They stumbled on the floor with Bolin underneath the shelf and Mako a few feet away from Bolin.

"Are you okay, Bo?" Mako checked on his little brother while rubbing his head.

Suddenly, the shelf collapsed, causing the figure to fall towards Bolin. Mako watched as the glass shattered in front of his brother. Luckily, Bolin wasn't hurt.

"What was that?!" Their mother heard the shattering and went in to check on her kids.

She saw a nervous Mako and a stunned Bolin kneeling on the floor, between them was a garden of shattered pieces of glass.

"What did you do?!" Naoki furiously stared at Mako.

Nervousness and fear crawled under his skin, "It w-wasn't me! It w-was B-Bolin!"

"He asked me to h-help him gr-grab…Aang!" He stuttered while pointing at his little Brother.

Naoki gasped and looked at Bolin, "It's n-not true, mom! It was-"

"I don't want any more excuses, Bolin! Now go to your room!" Their mother's tone startled the two brothers.

Bolin felt betrayed. His chest started to feel heavy. At the back of his mind, he thought how his brother became a traitor. The only brother he had. In a short moment, Bolin ran out of the house. His cries sounded through the street where bystanders turned their heads to see the little crying boy.

"Bolin!" Naoki screamed across the street.

Mako ran after his brother, deciding to apologize to him. He reached a tight alley where a boy was crying beside a dumpster.

"Hey, Bo," Mako sat beside his brother.

Bolin immediately punched him in the face, "Don't get near me!"

"I deserved that." The older boy caressed his cheek, "C'mon, bro, let's go home."

"No!" His tears shone under the faint light, "Why'd you have to tell mom that it was me!?"

"I'm s-sorry, okay!" Mako felt pity on his younger brother, "I got sc-scared!"

Out of the blue, two hooligans laughed behind them, "Eh? What 'cha boys doin' in our territory?"

The skinnier thug lit a large flame on his hand. "You two are spies from the other gang, aren't you?"

Mako covered his younger brother and waved his hands in the air, "No, no, no! We're not! We'll just leave, sir!"

"Eh? Ain't no one lives when they see my eyes," The large thug shone a flame near his eye.

The eye was pitch-black. It had nothing but darkness around it. In an instant, both brothers dodged an incoming attack.

"Stand still, boys!" The thugs hysterically laughed at the cowering children when an unexpected element stumbled them both.

"Naoki! Take the kids!" San threw several chunks of rock at the criminals.

San paved a way for his wife to grab their children. The huge thug blasted San with an enormous amount of fire and made the man launch on to the other side.

When Naoki reached her children, the skinny hooligan stood between their path. Naoki covered the kids and tried to back away from the man.

"I'll burn ya!" the crook yelled and lit up both his hands. The flames were about to reach the trio when someone jumped in front of them.

"San!" Naoki yelled as she saw her husband falling flat on the ground. Out of anger, she ran towards the skinny thug and tackled him.

"Get off of me, woman!" In an instant, a fire dagger pierced her side and she stumbled to the floor.

The two thugs dusted off and went after the children. Before they could even get near them, a man yelled from across the street.

"Hey! Over there!" The two thugs looked around and retreated.

"C'mon, let's get outta here!" They ran away and left the two children staring blankly at the murder.

Mako and Bolin watched as their mother's last breath came out, "M-Mako…t-take care…of your…br-brother…"

The two children cried as she passed away in front of them.

"I'm s-sorry, mom! I'm s-sorry, dad! I'm s-sorr-" Bolin was hushed by his older brother.

In their arms was the last memorabilia they'll ever have about their parents. They held it tight as tears fell harder from their eyes. Each drop darkened the crimson colored scarf that their father always wore. A scarf that would remind them of the day they lost it all.


End file.
